Furnace gas manifold and clamping structure



May 23, 1961 J. R. GREINER ETAL FURNACE GAS MANIFOLD AND CLAMPING STRUCTURE Filed 001;. l, 1958 /Nl EN TORS.

ATTORNEYS.

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FURNACE GAS MANIFOLD AND CLAMPING STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 1, 1958, Ser. No. 764,576

1 Claim. (Cl. 158-7) This invention relates generally to a gas-fired furnace construction, and more particularly to a novel releasable clamping structure for fixedly securing a gas supply manifold in accurate alignment relative to a plurality of gas burner tubes.

In the construction of gas-fired furnaces of the type having a plurality of gas burner tubes mounted in adjacent side-by-side relation, it is highly important to provide a simultaneous gas supply to each of the burner tubes in a manner which assures proper uniformity and alignment of gas flow thereinto. It has been common in the past to provide a tubular manifold or pipe extending transversely across the air and gas inlet ends of a plurality of burner tubes, and to provide a plurality of gas admission nozzles along the length of the manifold at spaced points in substantial alignment with the corresponding gas inlet openings of the burner tubes. During the practical commercial manufacture of such structures, however, it is not possible to insure sufliciently precise fixed positioning of the manifold nozzles relative to the burner tubes, and in fixed but releasable orientation within a casing structure, so that gas admission to the burner tubes will be achieved in exact directional orientation from the respective manifold nozzles into each of the plurality of burner tubes. Most frequently, such manifold tubes are subject to slight misalignments in angularity relative to the horizontal, and in rotation about their longitudinal axis. Angular misalignment of a manifold results in off-center positioning of the nozzles relative to the burner tube inlets, and rotational misalignment results in an askew angularity of the axis of gas discharge from the nozzles relative to the longitudinal axes of the burner tubes. The prior conventional use of bolt type connector fittings, having inherent pin and hole looseness of fit, for effecting fixed mounting of a manifold within a burner casing, has made adjusting correction of such misalignments extremely diflicult and time consuming.

It is a primary object of this invention, therefore, to provide a novel manifold securing clamp structure for predetermined fixed positioning of a tubular manifold or pipe in readily removable, aligned position within a gas burner construction.

It is another object of this invention to provide manifold securing means including tapered drive clamps adapted to anchor the ends of a tubular manifold or pipe in accurate, fixed position within a casing structure, While enabling simple assembly, service and removal of the manifold for access to the gas burners.

Further object and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of this specification.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view, partly broken away and in phantom outline, showing a gas-fired furnace and Patented May 23, 1961 heat exchanger structure employing the gas manifold mounting means of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the gas manifold assembly of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross sectional view taken substantially as indicated by the line 3'-3- on Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal cross sectional view taken at one end of the manifold structure in its mounted relation within the furnace casing of Figure 1, as indicated by the line 44 on Figure 5.

Figure 5 is another vertical cross sectional view taken through the manifold tube in a direction toward the left hand end thereof as seen in Figure 1.

Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of the manifold clamping elements.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 1 of the drawing, We have indicated generally at 10 a gas-fired furnace having a plurality of clam-shell heat exchangers 12 fixedly secured in adjacent side-by-side relation to a vestibule panel 14. A plurality of flue outlets 16 extend from the heat exchangers 12 through the vestibule panel 14 at the upper ends thereof. A pouch wrapper 18 is formed at the lower end of the vestibule panel 14 in transversely extending relation across the clam-shells 12 for internal access thereto. A plurality of burner inlets 20 are formed within the pouch wrapper 18 and serve to enable insertion of a plurality of gas-fired burner tubes 22 in parallel relation within each of the corresponding clam-shells 12. In thiy way, the air and gas inlet ends of the burners 22 are disposed in transversely aligned relation along substantially the same vertical plane within the pouch wrapper 18.

The furnace 10 is adapted to be mounted in fixed relation within an outer casing or cabinet 24 providing a pair of vertical support panels 26 and 28 at each side of the pouch wrapper 18. A gas supply manifold pipe 30 is adapted to be mounted in front of the pouch wrapper 18 between the support panels 26 and 28, and in aligned, opposed relation with the inlet ends of the burners 22. The manifold pipe 30 includes a gas supply fitting 32 for removable coupling with a source of combustible gas under pressure. A plurality of gas discharge orifice fittings 34 are provided at substantially equi-distantly spaced positions along the full length of the manifold pipe 30. Each of the orifices 34 is adapted to discharge directly into a corresponding one of the burners 22.

The present invention is particularly directed to a novel combination of clamp elements operative to fixedly secure the opposite ends of the manifold pipe 30 to the casing 24. A pair of manifold mounting brackets 36 and 38 are welded to the ends of the manifold pipe 30. The brackets 36 and 38 are generally planar in form having edge flanges 44 projecting outwardly therefrom at right angles. The shape of the brackets 36 is slightly downwardly tapering so as to angularly incline the edge flanges 44. The main planar portions of the brackets 36 and 38 are substantially parallel to each other and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the manifold pipe 30. The brackets '36 may be apertured and formed to provide a welding collar 37 for convenient attachment of a closedend type of manifold pipe, as here illustrated.

A pair of cabinet mounting brackets 40 and 42, of generally planar form, are welded to the corresponding vertical support panels 26 and 28 in vertical and parallel orientation. The brackets 40 and 42 each provide edge flanges 46 and 48 extending in right angular relation from the planar face portion thereof, and the edge flanges of each bracket are generally downwardly tapered so as to be angularly inclined toward each other. The edge flanges 48 provide co-planar tabs 50 and 52 extending in the opposite direction from the main planar surfaces of the brackets 40 and 42. The tabs 50 and 52 engage and embrace the facing surfaces of the vertical support panels 26 and 28 to insure fixed positioning and alignment. The brackets 40 and 42 may be welded to the support panels 26 and 28 at the tabs 50 and 52 and at the edge adjacent flanges 46.

A pair of identical wedge members 54 are provided for coupling together the manifold mounting brackets with the cabinet mounting brackets. Each of the wedges 54 provides edge flanges 56 and 58 at the opposite sides thereof and a striking flange 60 at the top thereof, all extending in the same direction fromthe main planar surface of the wedges at right angles thereto. The wedges 54 are downwardly tapered so as to angularly incline the edge flanges 56 and 58 toward each other. The angular inclinations of the manifold mounting bracket edge flanges 44, the cabinet mounting bracket edge flanges 46 and 48, and the wedge edge flanges 56 and 58 are substantially identical so as to insure a parallel and mating relation therebetween.

In order to efiect mounting assembly of the manifold pipe 30 within the casing 24, and in precisely aligned relation with the inlet ends of all of the burners 22, the manifold mounting brackets 36 and 38 are substantially simultaneously slid downwardly within the fixed cabinet mounting brackets 40 and 42, so as to dispose the tapered edge flanges 44 within and in mating engagement against the cabinet mounting bracket edge flanges 46. The wedges 54 are then inserted intermediate the correspondingly mated manifold and cabinet mounting brackets. The edge flange 56 and 58 of the wedges 54 are matingly received within and in contacting engagement against the corresponding adjacent edge flanges 44 of the manifold mounting brackets and edge flanges '48 of the cabinet mounting brackets, respectively, as best seen in Figure 4 of the drawing. As the wedges 54 are driven downwardly, as by striking a hammer blow against the flanges 60, a tight wedging engagement of the cooperating bracket members is effected, thereby insuring fixed positioning of the manifold pipe 30 in exact predetermined and nonrotatable alignment, and without risk of misaligning rotation about its longitudinal axis which might otherwise result in an improper angular inclination of the orifice fittings 54 relative to the inlets of the burner tubes 22. Proper angular alignment of the manifold pipe 30 relative to the horizontal may be readily efiected by normal seated engagement of the bottom edges of the identical manifold mounting brackets 36 and 38 upon the horizontal portion of the cabinet frame extending between the vertical support channels 26 and 28, thereby orienting the longitudinal axis of the manifold pipe 30 in predetermined relation to the cabinet 24 and the burner tubes 22 fixedly disposed therein.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention and, therefore, it is intended in the appended claim to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

In a furnace structure including a cabinet fixedly supporting a plurality of burner tubes and an elongated manifold pipe having a corresponding plurality of discharge orifices for supplying fuel thereto, the improvements therein characterized by manifold mounting means comprising a pair of manifold brackets secured to the opposite ends of said pipe, a pair of oppositely facing cabinet brackets secured to said cabinet in spaced apart relation permitting said pipe to be disposed therebetween with each of said manifold brackets having a face portion in a plane normal to the pipe axis and in opposed closely adjacent relation to the face portions of a corresponding one of said cabinet brackets, said manifold and cabinet brackets each having a flange extending therefrom in a plane parallel to the pipe axis and toward engagement with an opposed bracket, said flange of an opposed pair of manifold and cabinet brackets being spaced from each other in converging relation, said cabinet brackets each having another flange extending therefrom in a plane parallel to the pipe axis and being spaced from said first flange thereof in converging relation, and separate wedge means each releasably insertable between corresponding of said opposed pairs of brackets, said wedge means being tapered in parallel relation to said spaced bracket flanges for Wedging co operation therewith to effect tight interconnection of said brackets, said flanges of said opposed pairs of brackets and said Wedge means providing cooperatively engaged portions serving when interconnected to non-rotatably clamp a manifold bracket flange between a cabinet bracket flange and the wedge to preclude relative rotation of said pipe and effect predetermined rotational alignment thereof, thereby to fixedly but adjustably position the ends of said pipe to dispose it in predetermined nonrotatable alignment with said discharge orifices thereof co-axially aligned with said corresponding burner tubes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,744,439 Bitgood Jan. 21, 1930 2,529,873 Heller Nov. 14, 1950 2,750,997 Reuter June 19, 1956 

